


Why Do You Still Wear It?

by Spideyfan62



Category: Spider-Man (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Big Brother Peter Parker, Gen, Mentor/Protégé, Post Spider-Man PS4, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26198326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spideyfan62/pseuds/Spideyfan62
Summary: "Everything alright?" Peter asked."Huh?" Miles asked, clearly lost in thought. "Oh, yeah yeah! Like you said, we should get going!" Miles started to jog past Peter, but the older of the Spider-Men reached out and gently grabbed the younger by the shoulder, holding him up. Peter had learned to recognize when Miles was hiding something, even when he couldn't see his face."Miles," Peter said in a gentle but authoritative manner. "Come on man, talk to me. Everything okay?""Yeah; it's nothing wrong or anything," Miles answered, turning to face Peter properly. "I just...I had a question, but it can wait.""Okay, any time you say that, I end up having to pry it out of you," Peter said, crossing his arms over the white spider symbol on the chest of his suit. "Spill."
Relationships: Miles Morales & Peter Parker
Comments: 7
Kudos: 75





	Why Do You Still Wear It?

**Author's Note:**

> Peter and Miles discuss the significance of the Advanced Suit

Pulling his web into a tight arc, Peter flew around a corner like the expert web swinger he was. He didn't even need to glance back to see that Miles wasn't far behind, trying to catch up. His young protege had picked up on web swinging pretty quickly; Peter had had to learn the ropes (or webs, rather) all on his own, and it had taken him a little longer than he cared to admit before he truly felt completely in control as he swung through New York's skyline. Miles however was picking up on it with remarkable quickness. 

Peter still remembered when he invited Miles to the Chrysler Building for his first web swinging lesson. After weeks of begging and begging Peter to teach him the ropes, particularly in web swinging, when the time came, the boy had been nervous, which wasn't too surprising. Saying you wanted to do it was one thing, but actually staring out into the streets of Manhattan from twenty or more stories up? That was another matter entirely. Still, Miles had taken the leap. That first swing hadn't been pretty, with Peter needing to reassure Miles a few times that it would come to him. Now, here they were, less than 2 months later, and the Spidey in training was right on his heels, despite that he had an 8 year advantage in experience! 

A part of Peter would certainly be proud if Miles could in fact beat him. After all, they say that a student is supposed to surpass the teacher, which is exactly what his goal was for the teenager, both in being a superhero and in life. He wanted Miles to learn from the many, many mistakes he made, especially early on his career as Spider-Man, and how it bled into his life as Peter Parker. However, there was still the petty side of him that said there was absolutely NO WAY that he was going to let this young up and comer show him up. After all, he needed to make absolutely sure that he pushed Miles to the heights of his abilities, right? 

Trusting his spider-sense fully while also making rough calculations in his head for maximum speed and distance in his swings, Peter began to stretch his lead over Miles once more, but it wasn't long before his protege was on his tail again. There was one more tight corner they needed to round before they reached their destination: the ColeXco building. Firing his web at precisely the place it needed to be, Peter clutched it with his right hand, extending his body before pulling his legs in front of him, sending him flying around the corner. After another couple swings, Peter landed gracefully onto the rooftop of their destination. He turned to look for Miles, who was almost there, landing about 10 seconds later, though he clearly tried to do one too many flips, causing him to stumble in his landing. 

"Easy there, showoff," Peter said as he walked towards the helipad area of the rooftop where Miles had landed. "You good?"

"Yeah," Miles answered, straightening up and clearly trying to walk off his wounded pride from trying to do too much. "Man, I thought I had you too!" 

"You'll get there one day; just not today," Peter said, the lens of the his left eye winking in a teasing manner. 

"Just you wait old man," Miles fired back teasingly, pointing a finger in Peter's direction. "I'll catch up to you, and soon too!" 

"Excuse me, did you just call me 'old man'?" Peter asked incredulously. 

"Sure did!" Miles answered in the affirmative. 

"You better watch out then, because you're going to be where I am before you know it!" Peter advised. Despite the fact that there was only an 8 year difference between him and Miles, mentoring a teenager sure made him feel old. 

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Miles asked as he threw his arms up in the air in mock exasperation. 

"Because it's true; take it from this old man," Peter said, gesturing to himself. "Anyway, we better get going. I'm pretty sure I remember your mom said that she'd have her famous peanut butter and chocolate pie ready when we get back, and we're already running late." 

Peter turned to leave, but when Miles didn't immediately follow, he spun around again and walked back towards him. 

"Everything alright?" Peter asked. 

"Huh?" Miles asked, clearly lost in thought. "Oh, yeah yeah! Like you said, we should get going!" Miles started to jog past Peter, but the older of the Spider-Men reached out and gently grabbed the younger by the shoulder, holding him up. Peter had learned to recognize when Miles was hiding something, even when he couldn't see his face. 

"Miles," Peter said in a gentle but authoritative manner. "Come on man, talk to me. Everything okay?" 

"Yeah; it's nothing wrong or anything," Miles answered, turning to face Peter properly. "I just...I had a question, but it can wait."

"Okay, any time you say that, I end up having to pry it out of you," Peter said, crossing his arms over the white spider symbol on the chest of his suit. "Spill." 

"It's just....Dr. Octavius designed that suit for you, right?" Miles asked meekly. 

"Yeah; he made some improvements based off my old designs," Peter answered nostalgically. He remembered very well waking up on the couch in the lab to find a post it note on his forehead instructing him to check his email. When he had, there were designs for the white spider symbol as well as new types of materials to implement into his suit. Peter had considered carefully where exactly each part should go, thinking of the areas where he needed flexibility versus protection, and constructed his new suit accordingly. 

"So, after everything that's happened...why do you still wear it?" Miles said, but before Peter could responded, the teen backtracked a little. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's obviously your choice, I was just thinking about it..."

"Miles, it's okay," Peter said, gently putting his hands out to settle his protege's nerves. "It's a fair question." Peter then took a moment to process his answer, looking down at the white spider symbol on his chest as he did. The memories of everything that had happened months ago came flooding back as he did: Martin Li, the Devil Breath, Octavius, May... all of it. He finally looked up again, looking straight into Miles' eye lenses. 

"I wear it to remember," Peter said. 

"Remember what?" Miles said, cocking his head to the side a little. 

"A lot of things really," Peter replied. "The good, the bad, but most of all, to me, this represents the good that I still believe was in Otto. He made a choice to give into hate and revenge, but deep down, there was a good man inside of him, a man that I looked up to like I hadn't since my uncle." 

"Huh," Miles said, likely taking a moment to ponder Peter's words. "I never thought of it that way. I guess I just assumed that because it was associated with so many bad memories, you'd want to go back to the old one, or just make a new one." 

"Maybe one day I will do one of those," Peter acknowledged, "but even if I do, I never want to forget what happened. What happens to us in life shapes us into who we become, the good, the bad, the loss, all of it. Does that makes sense?" 

"Yeah," Miles said, his head hanging low for a minute before popping back up again. "I have been kinda thinking about that with my dad. As much as I would give to have him back, remembering the things he taught me makes it feel like he's still here, guiding me along. That probably sounds crazy." 

Peter put his hand on Miles' shoulder. "It doesn't sound crazy at all," he said, and even though neither of them could actually see the eyes of the other, Peter could tell there was an obvious understanding between them. They had both suffered great loss in their lives, and even to this day, the lessons those people had passed on still drove their actions to this day. 

"Thanks man," Miles said. "I didn't know if you'd be willing to talk about it or not." 

"Sure thing," Peter said. "Anytime you wanna know something, all you need to do is ask." 

"I appreciate that," Miles said. "Now, last one back to my place gets the least pie!" With that, Peter watched as Miles ran and jumped off the rooftop, swinging off in the direction of his family's home in Harlem. 

"So that's how it is," Peter said to himself as too jumped off the roof, fired a web and swung off after his protege.

**Author's Note:**

> I've only written two short stories about them so far, but I'm coming to really enjoy writing the mentor/protege dynamic between the PS4 versions of Peter and Miles. Hope you liked it too! 
> 
> My prayers to you all, that you stay safe and healthy (in every way). 
> 
> "Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God." Psalm 10:12-14


End file.
